“I understand.” She walked naked to her closet, my eyes on her swaying hips the entire way there. “Should I cover up the mark? It’ll be obvious what happened.”
I cleared my throat after a lengthy pause then cleared it again. “There hasn’t been a completed bond for my clan for years. Not since before the curse. They will no doubt be ogling. Let them. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
She returned, dressed in one of the new gowns I’d purchased for her, a light blue shimmery fabric that floated around her ankles like delicate snowflakes. I went to her, drinking her in with my shirt still untucked from my pants and undone at the throat. Even half-dressed she was utterly delicious.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. I didn’t have to read her mind to know some part of her enjoyed how possessive I could be. I laid a hand over the mark on her throat. My eyes drifted closed and a sound of pleasure escaped my lips.
“I’m glad it was you,” I said, before pressing a kiss to her surprised mouth.
“Me, too,” she answered in my head.
“Come on,” I said after fastening her dress. A combination of nerves and dread writhed in my stomach. She followed, content to let me lead and explain what we were doing in my own time. I was grateful. It would take the brief walk to our destination for me to work up the courage anyway. She was quiet, letting me lead her through the castle to the entrance for the crypts.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, as I tugged her along a dark, cavernous tunnel. Her injuries were as healed as they were going to get and I no longer required a nap every afternoon to be at full strength. It was the second time she had saved my life, nearly sacrificing her own to do it. There wouldn’t be a better opportunity to lay it all bare for her than this one.
“If I told you, that would ruin the surprise.” I led her around a corner, her hand in mine. I could have let her read my thoughts now that the connection between us was completely open, but I wanted to show her, to explain to her. I wanted to give her this truth myself now that there were no walls between us.
“Don’t you think we’ve had enough surprises?” she asked wryly.
“A good surprise,” I said, and I hoped it would be true.
“These are the crypts, aren’t they? I thought I wasn’t supposed to go down here. Alaric told me I shouldn’t.”
“I told him to tell you that. I didn’t want you to see it without me. I wasn’t ready?—I didn’t know how to tell you what I needed to until now.”
She was quiet again as we moved deeper into the mountains. It felt right to have her here. I never thought I’d be able to share anything so personal with anyone, but she was my mate and she belonged here. She deserved to know all of my secrets.
The closer we got to our destination, the colder it became. The light was dim, tinged with a blue-green hue. Magick pulsed as though it was a living thing, making the hair on my arms stand up.
The hallway narrowed and soon we were squeezing through a space that only left a few inches for us to maneuver. When it opened up again, Elena looked up from where she was navigating through the rock and gasped, but the sound of surprise was drowned out by the constant pattering of water from the dark heights of the endless room. It seemed to suck up most of the sound, but not the buzzing hum that came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
There were eggs, as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Maybe even tens of thousands. They were displayed on pedestals and glowed?—the source of the blue-green light that illuminated the room. Inside the eggs, shadow forms writhed and danced. Her hand went to her mouth, and tears sprung to her eyes. This part I didn’t have to explain. These were thousands of potential lives that may never be born, cursed to a sort of half-life locked inside the shells, waiting. The part of me that drove the mating lust ached fiercely at the sight, and I thought of the hatchlings we might not ever have.
“When I told you I wanted you to give me an heir, I hadn’t been lying. All I’ve ever wanted was to break the curse that kept my people from their birthright. I hope when the time is right, we can make one of these lives together.” She was too shocked to speak, so I kept going. “But before that happens, I want to tell you about Valeria. Then, if you want to leave and never come back, I won’t stop you.”
“I’m listening,” she said.
I pushed a hand through my hair, then gestured for her to sit with me on the steps. Her beautiful face was awash in the blue-green glow, her expression patient and open. I didn’t deserve her. Not one bit.
“My first mate wasn’t a nice woman. She came from a long line of distinguished clansmen. Our binding had been arranged since we were hatchlings. I didn’t have an opinion one way or another. Having a mate was my duty. It wasn’t until after we were bound that I realized what she was.”
Elena’s hand convulsed over mine. “What do you mean?” She licked her lips as though her mouth had gone dry with fear. Or maybe that was just mine.
“Valeria was...cruel,” seemed to be the best way to explain it.
“She was cruel?” Elena repeated. “To you?”
I looked away. “Sometimes.” I wanted to tell her, wanted to lay my heart bare, but the words were so hard to get out. I didn’t want her to think less of me.
“She hurt you?” Elena prodded gently.
“She tried. I was much bigger, much stronger. I could have stopped her, but she always made me feel like I deserved it.”
“Oh, Rhys. Of course you didn’t.”
“She was very convincing, very clever. And I would never raise a hand to a woman, despite my reputation. So I took it, for years, because I thought it was my duty to be her mate, produce sons.”
Her breath caught as she remembered how this particular story ended, but she didn’t interrupt.
